A sandbag is typically used in emergency situations, such as during flooding conditions. Because of the lack of everyday use of sandbags, it is not normal to store already filled sandbags. Instead, if an emergency situation arises, then a load of sand is typically dumped proximate the area where the sandbags are needed. Empty bags are then filled on site.
During an emergency situation filling the bags quickly and easily is of utmost importance. One way of doing so is to manually shovel sand from a sand pile into the bags. While this is clearly the simplest way of filling the bags, it is also manually intensive and time consuming. Manual efforts are better spent placing the filled bags in position, rather than filling the bags themselves.
Various apparatus have been proposed for automatically filling sandbags. However, these are typically in the form of large machinery or devices for mounting on a truck. Due to the complexity of the machinery, they can be quite expensive. For an item that would normally be used very infrequently, it is difficult for individuals, municipalities or other governmental bodies to justify the expense. Also, such devices would necessarily need continued maintenance even when not in use. This further burdens purchasers for a device that would hopefully never be used.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above in a novel and simple manner.